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Thursday, May 11, 2006

And so it starts...

Here's the weather for the next 6 days... One thing that I don't think we will miss too much when we move is this...

What happened to the nice spring temperatures?! It's only going to get hotter from here too!

Oh well... when it's over 100 degrees outside, what do I decide to do? Bake bread.... hmm probably not the best of plans! At least the AC is working!

Rosemary-Apple Bread is a golden moist loaf studded with chopped tart granny smith apples and pungent fresh rosemary. It is a bit heavy, but in a good way, as there is no added fat inside the dough. The dough kneaded well without sticking much - I did keep the apple chucks semi large and it was a little tough kneading them in. When I added them, the dough got pretty sticky, but I used a touch of cooking spray on my hands and got them all in without having half of the dough stuck to my fingers. After the loaf is baked, melted butter is brushed on top to give the finished bread a very rich golden color. Next time, I think I want to add some shredded cheddar for a cheesy variation.

There are two parts to tonight's dinner. Five-Spice Tilapia with Citrus Ponzu Sauce was a snap to prepare and was done in minutes. Mild tilapia is coated in a spicy mixture of 5-spice powder, salt and red pepper. If you don't already have the five-spice handy, you can make your own as we did - mix together equal parts ground szechwan pepper, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and fennel. The fish is cooked for just a minute or two on each side, or until it reaches the degree of doneness that you prefer. The tender flaky fish is then finished with a refreshing, salty and slightly sweet citrus sauce.

I'm not sure if the next recipe should be served with fish, but when has that ever mattered to us? Grilled Bacon-and-Herb Grit Cakes is a combination of hot cooked grits, fresh thyme, salty bacon and sharp white cheddar. While still warm, the grits are still pretty creamy, but after it is placed in a baking dish and refrigerated for awhile, it firms up quite a bit. Now, you can either cut it into simple wedges, or be fancy and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter. These cakes are then grilled to warm them up - since we are getting ready to move, I just used The Griddler instead of getting the grill back out. We didn't get the dark grill marks, but it worked just as well. These were good, but a bit bland - I think I would up the spices some and maybe add some nutty parmesan to give it a boost of flavor. I would also like to try this with some crispy prosciutto instead of the bacon!

It all sounds great! I'm a little wow'd by the apple rosemary loaf. I never would have thought of apple and rosemary together.

And what's with the temperature? That's insane! I doubt I could handle it but I'd love to have a bit of it. We've been stuck with 10C (50F) temperatures forEVER. It's depressing and making everything grow slow.

Today, north of Baltimore, MD the temp was a wonderful 70 and sunny. The bad news is that it is supposed to rain for the next several days. I would wilt in that heat, but as biscuit girl pointed out the humidity is awful here!